Arson Suspect To Testify For State

One of two men charged with arson in a Cicero fire that killed seven people last month has admitted his involvement and agreed to become a witness for the state, investigators said Friday.

The suspect, Scott Drazen, 20, of 1913 S. Cicero Ave., Cicero, was being held in protective custody at the Cook County Jail at the request of the state`s attorney`s office and a public defender appointed to represent him.

``He has given us a statement in which he has admitted his involvement in the fire,`` said Emil Schullo, chief of detectives for the Cicero police.

Drazen and another Cicero man, Ronald Basham, 27, of 1437 S. 49th Ave., were charged Thursday with aggravated arson and seven counts of murder in connection with a Jan. 7 fire in an apartment building at 1914-18 S. Cicero Ave.

A $1 million personal-recognizance bond was set for Drazen after prosecutors told Associate Judge Carl J. Cipolla of the Cook County Circuit Court that Drazen was cooperating in the continuing investigation of the fire. They said Drazen needed protection from other inmates in the County Jail.

``The state`s attorney`s office and the public defender both agreed that there was a safety problem with the defendant,`` Cipolla said. ``The defendant was in danger of being threatened or hurt by other inmates.``

The bond would allow Drazen to go free while awaiting trial on the murder charges by signing his name. He would be responsible for the $1 million only if he doesn`t show up for trial.

But Schullo said that Drazen is being held in ``protective custody`` and that he also must be detained because of a pending parole violation in Kankakee County.

A $1 million cash bond was set Friday for Basham by Judge Eugene Campion in the Maywood branch of Circuit Court. Investigators said Basham has not given statements implicating himself.

Basham and Drazen are to appear Tuesday in Criminal Court in Chicago at a preliminary hearing on the murder and arson charges.

Schullo said his office is following other leads in the fatal fire and that it is possible that other suspects could be arrested. No motive has been established for the arson, the detective said.

Cicero officials maintain that no one should have been living in the apartment because the owners had not complied with an order to rehabilitate it or keep it vacant after a 1986 fire. Sixteen of the 24 apartments in the building were occupied at the time of the fire.

Schullo said police had been in contact with the two suspects ``from the start . . . from the day of the fire. Fortunately for us, we had enough to charge two people, and the investigation will continue.``